This invention relates to a supply hose arrangement for a car wash.
In one type of car wash, the washing fluid is supplied through a flexible hose with the flexible hose supported by a boom rotatable about a vertical axis and extending generally horizontally from a support member for rotation in a horizontal plane.
In older types of boom arrangement there is provided a substantially rigid boom generally in the form of a tube which is then supported upon a complex and heavy support member at the vertical axis generally including a spring assembly which allows the boom to be pulled downwardly from the horizontal axis. U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,005 (Jacob R. Wiebe) and the corresponding Canadian Patent No. 1,217,991 disclose an arrangement in which the boom comprises a spring wire mounted for rotation about the vertical axis with the spring wire including at least one loop through 360.degree. arranged such that the wire can bend in a vertical bending plane down from the horizontal plane about an axis defined by the loop, the loop lying substantially in the vertical bending plane of the wire so that the bending of the wire in the vertical bending plane causes torsioning of the loop. Booms of this type can be used as ceiling mounted booms which are rotatable around the full 360.degree. of the horizontal plane in which case a swiveling coupling is necessary between the hose and a supply conduit at the central support. In other cases a boom of this type can be used as a side mounted boom rotatable only through 180.degree. which is then generally mounted on a side wall of a car wash stall.
Booms of this type have been very successful and have become very popular in comparison with the old heavy type tubular boom in view of the lightness of the new boom and the consequential reduction in parts and price.
One problem which arises with booms of this type is that of accommodating different types or weights of hose arrangement since heavier hoses will tend to bow the spring wire downwardly from the horizontal plane. If the wire is biased upwardly from the horizontal plane then lighter hoses will not draw it down sufficiently to pull it back into the horizontal plane.
A further problem which arises with booms of this type is that of providing a park arrangement so that the boom is properly positioned at a predetermined angular orientation about the vertical axis when it is released so that it returns each time to the park position from which it can be easily retrieved by the operator.